Celebrated Night
by ramblehook
Summary: Rax Dofor, who believes himself a common student, is confronted with unexpected circumstances inside his college during the aftermath of the Lights Festival. Note: This is a One-Shot Story.


**_DISCLAIMER: _**_The following recount is completely fictional and unrelated to any incident in the past or present. All the characters and locations are fictitious. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental._

_Characters mentioned here are not employed for profit and commercial purposes._

_**Note: **This is a One-Shot Story. Further enhances might be made depending on later circumstances. Information regarding this matter shall be relayed._

* * *

**CELEBRATED NIGHT**

Dusk settled into the sky with happiness and uproar on the college campus. Unlike previous evenings whenever people used to simply leave after a day's work, that day was an aftermath celebration of the Lights Festival. It's not quite common to celebrate an aftermath festival. A good friend of mine called beforehand to meet up on the first floor of the A block right next to the Charity Office and the back exit. I had arrived at the college square. Things were lit up and I was able to recognise a few of the faces who were present for such kind of occasions.

I wasted no time and walked up into the A Block. There were lesser people on the stairs and the numbers reduced as I walked towards the Charity Office. My friend wasn't there and for a moment I agreed to the fact that I had arrived later than the meeting time. But then what to do next? It was practically found at the moment that there was no one around in the corridor. None a soul came from the exit on the other side, none anyone towards my back. I began feeling a tinge of uneasiness as I walked towards the Examination Centre Room. It was strange to find one of the doors open for some reason. It was pitched black inside but that did not stop my curiosity from pulling me in.

I heard a sharp sound whilst walking down the stairs, something metallic and sonorous hitting hard against a material of the same constitution. The stairs were longer than I had anticipated and it went deep down before I had realised. As I reached the bottom, a large pillar awaited before me and a room ahead which was supposed to be non-existent in the college. The walls had turned into a medieval dungeon overlook and that wasn't normal. I hesitated none and walked straight ahead. Whilst on my sojourn walking down the long stairs, the metallic sounds continued to reverberate through the stairway, and it came in closer. But a surprise awaited me when I found that there was no one in the place. It seemed like an old room used for storage purposes. It was bigger than I had expected and the roof was unseen due to its unfathomable height and the darkness. Surprisingly, there was a pretty large window at the end of the room. I observed that the room tapered into lesser breath every pace I had taken ahead until, in the end, the window remained to determine the room's width. What in the world was that creepy place?

Old chairs and tables were piled up on the sides of the room with a lot of classroom stationery. The weird thing that sought my eyes was the three chairs which stood upright near the window, two of them facing towards me. No one was sitting there, despite my hunch telling me that they were used recently. The view outside the window was another wonder. It seemed as if I was on a high floor and watching the city celebrate the Lights Festival. Fireworks lit up the sky and it seemed more than the regular enjoyment. It felt as if the city or else the nation had been victorious over something really important.

I realised that I was heaving for rushing into the campus before coming inside the A Block. Thankful, I had my sipper inside my backpack to relieve my dried throat. I turned back with the sudden sound of the metallic clangs once again. There was no one there and instead of getting worked up, I sat down on the third chair which was turned in a different direction.

"I never thought he would recognise." a voice called from my left.

I was stupefied to find a large man sitting on the chair next to mine.

"Really surprising. Look at him now. He's looking at you." a second man was found towards my right, leaning on the wall. The last chair was not taken and I believed that it was reserved for him. The big man next to me looked upon my face.

"You can see me, can't you, young man?" he asked.

I nodded with sweat on my face. What was going on? Who were these men and when did they arrive there?

"I see. So you are a friend of Zuv."

Zuv? Indeed that name rang a bell inside my head. He's the same friend of mine who had called me to the first-floor corridor.

"Where is he? I was supposed to meet him." I blurted in my agitation.

"Unfortunately, Zuv isn't here right now. But he did mention of you. Your name's Rax Dofor, right?" the big man said.

I was surprised that he knew my name.

"What's going on here? Who are you people and how do you know me?" I was agitated and got up from my seat.

"Your friend mentioned that you possess an exemplary amount of Reishi (spirit particles) for a regular human. I believe that must be the reason you can see us now." the standing man replied.

The sharp clang resounded again. When I looked towards the sound, I was surprised to find two men flying through the air and facing each other, with swords nonetheless. My eyes settled in the dark environment and I was able to observe that the roof wasn't present at all. Instead, a dark void veiled above me and seemed to lead nowhere.

"Zuv used to talk of things like the entities which he had said to have seen in the previous year. That word 'Reishi' I believe he was the one who had told me before." I recounted with a flash, "It all seemed outlandish to hear him say such things during college hours but then again, he wasn't one of the people who used to show up regularly. In fact, his attendance was so low that the faculty decided to detain him in the previous term."

"Is it?" the standing man listened.

"But then, I was surprised to find him all wrecked up and bandaged that day. As if he was run over by something. Surprisingly, after his absence for a week or two, he was good as new." I looked at the standing man, "Is there some kind of connections to all this?"

"Connections? Yes! You see, your friend is a Soul Reaper." replied the big man, "And all of us here as well."

"Your friend was generous in letting us use this place." said the standing man, "He mentioned this big old room could only be accessed by him."

I was shocked. A Soul Reaper? Like the ones who guide dead folks to the other side?

"I never believed that this room existed. It's quite uncanny to find myself on a higher floor in the building. I thought the stairs led to the basement." I said, "But enough of that. I want to know of Zuv. We met yesterday and he's no longer to be seen?"

"I believe he wanted you to meet us. You are an interesting fellow after all." said the big guy.

"He's in a dangerous task right now. In the netherworld. We call it the Soul Society." said the other man.

"That's more of a reason for me to know." I replied.

"You see that man? The one with the long hair?" the big guy pointed. I recognised one of the men who were clashing blades with the other.

"His name is Renji, a strong officer in our force. He'll soon be prepared to leave for the same task as your friend. The Soul Society is not a place of visiting right now."

I realised that something big was up. Zuv must've been in some battle. And from all the things I had seen of the past, the Great Wars in the previous century and other examples, I decided to rethink of heading towards Zuv's location.

"Does it mean that I need to be strong to head there?" I asked the big man.

"Strong, indeed. But you must be well-prepared too." said the big man, "Don't worry over your friend. He'll be alright."

I didn't reply and decided to walk towards the window. I was lightened up from the glowing fireworks and gulped in all the new things that I had found today. I looked at my wristwatch and realised that it was getting late. I decided to take my leave.

"Best you don't tell this to anyone." said the standing man. I then realised that he was wearing sunglasses in the dark. His hair like that of a star and seemed really funky. I nodded to his advice. Weird man.

"Besides, my name is Hachigen Ushoda. Call me Hachi." the big man introduced himself.

"And I'm Love Aikawa." said the former.

I shook hands with both of them and took my leave. The long-haired guy and the other one waved at me from above.

"See you later, man. I heard you will be needing us beyond that ceiling." Renji pointed at the void. A shiver shook my body thinking of what must've lurked beyond that darkness.

"Sure thing." I replied with a nervous smile.

I was back outside onto the first floor and found myself next to the Charity Office and the Examination Centre Room. I looked back and found that the open door had disappeared, leaving behind a common locked room. Everything seemed surreal, but then again I knew that it was somewhat real with Zuv being involved.

People were walking along the corridor much to my relief over reality. I decided to walk out of the back exit. I wondered if I had been in a different dimension all the while long.

**THE END**


End file.
